Asbestos warning issued after fatal bungalow blast

Asbestos debris has been found in the area of a fatal bungalow explosion, a council has warned.

Steve Woodward died a few days after the gas blast at his home on Cobb Hall Road in Newton Longville, near Milton Keynes, on 9 August.

Buckinghamshire Council said it had been reassured by the UK Health Security Agency that the risk to the community was low, as any fibres released would have been "greatly diluted by air currents".

But as a precaution, it has advised residents to wash items, including any clothing that was on a washing line or garden toys, in luke-warm water for at least 10 minutes.

Asbestos is a building material used between the 1950s and 1980s and remains the largest single cause of work-related fatalities in the UK.

Buckinghamshire Council said in a letter, shared by Newton Longville Parish Council, that if people found ash or debris from the explosion, they should alert the local authorities to arrange for it to be collected and disposed of.

However, if moving the material was unavoidable – on a car, for example – it should be dampened with water, double-bagged and then taken to a household waste recycling centre.

The letter said: "The health risks associated with asbestos are generally linked to prolonged or repeated exposure to much higher concentrations of fibres over many years, most commonly in enclosed, occupational settings.

"A brief exposure to Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) is insignificant for members of the public when compared with lifetime background exposure already present in ambient air.

"We understand this is a worrying time for those affected and will continue to provide updates as work progresses."

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